alt.fan.lynne-russell -- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Lynne Russell?
Lynne Russell is the weekday evening anchor for CNN's Headline
News, on which she has appeared since 1983. Her time slot is
7-11 PM (Eastern).
2. What makes Lynne more special than other news anchors?
There are many answers to this question. Beauty, quirkiness,
class, sexiness, professionalism, warmth, humor, grace, spirit,
the list goes on. As an article in the Saturday Evening Post
said, "Her style is distinctive. Whereas others are primarily
composed and favor a clipped, oracular delivery, Russell is
personal, almost conversational, and has a powerful, kinetic
presence she cannot quite contain. Whether it's a half-smile,
an arched brow, or the toss of a shoulder, there is a restless
physicality about her."
3. What Lynne resources are available on the net?
+ alt.fan.lynne-russell, a Usenet newsgroup created in January
1995
+ The Lynne Russell Resource, by J.A. Ollinger; bibliography
and research sources <http://www.speedlink.com/jao/lynne.htm>
+ CNN's web site, Anchors & Reporters section; brief biography
and career summary
<http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/russell.html>
+ Lynne Russell: A Truly Unique Individual, a web page by Brian
Lev <http://www.his.com/~blev/lynnepages.html>
+ The alt.fan.lynne-russell Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
file (which is also available in HTML format), maintained by
Earl Cooley III <ftp://ftp.io.com/pub/usr/shiva/lrFAQ.txt>,
<http://www.io.com/~shiva/lrFAQ.html>. With any kind of luck,
it should be downloadable from the RTFM FAQ archives soon
(details as they become available).
4. What are her background and vital statistics?
Lynne Russell was born in Orange, New Jersey, to John Russell
and Carmela Pasqualina Evangelista on November 1, 1946. Her
father was a career army officer, so her family moved
frequently while she was growing up. She studied nursing at the
University of Colorado, but later pursued a broadcasting career
at a small radio station. Lynne then got a radio job in Miami,
where she met her current husband, Jim Dunlap. They married in
1978. That same year was her first TV news job, in
Jacksonville, and over the next several years she did TV news
in Boston, Honolulu, and San Antonio, until landing the job in
Atlanta with the young Headline News in 1983.
+ Lynne has a son, John, born circa 1971 from a brief first
marriage.
+ Her height is 5' 9".
+ Hair: red/brown. Eyes: dark brown.
+ Her ancestry is Italian on her mother's side.
+ She's a vegetarian.
+ Her salary is in the six-figure range.
+ Favorite anchor: Roger Mudd.
5. What are her activities and interests outside of CNN?
One of the fascinating aspects of Lynne's life is that she has
some unusual hobbies and moonlights in some unexpected
professions. "She has a lot of different passions," says
co-worker Chuck Roberts. Lynne says, "I can't imagine doing any
one thing. Why should you have to?" She is a:
+ Deputy Sheriff: Lynne is a volunteer deputy for the Fulton
County Sheriff's Department. She wears a full uniform,
carries a gun, and performs such duties as providing security
for public events, screening visitors at the county jail, and
occasionally directing traffic.
+ Private Investigator and Bodyguard: A licensed P.I., Lynne
works part-time for the United Security Group (unpaid, so as
not to be a conflict of interest with CNN). For example, she
does investigation and surveillance of fraudulent injury
claimants and unfaithful spouses and has served as a
bodyguard for celebrities visiting Atlanta.
+ Martial Artist: Lynne has been involved in martial arts for
about 20 years, starting with Shotokan Karate and more
recently studying a Korean form called Choi Kwang Do which
emphasizes the reduction of the risk of injury during
training. She has a second-degree black belt and trains
regularly.
6. Could Lynne kick my butt?
Almost certainly. Lynne's extensive experience in martial arts
would make her a formidable foe. Says her instructor, "In the
classroom a lot of the male population, they're actually pretty
frightened of her." Aside from that, she's licensed to carry a
handgun; specifically, she packs a SIG-Sauer P230 9mm short
semiautomatic pistol and knows how to use it. But we are
fortunate in that Lynne uses her powers for good instead of
evil.
7. Does Lynne really have a tattoo?
Yes, on the inside of her left forearm. It is a yellow circle
containing an orange mark, a black figure of a dragon, and
black Korean characters which read as "Pil Sung." Pil Sung is a
motto for Choi Kwang Do and translates as "Certain Victory."
Lynne got the tattoo to celebrate attaining her first-degree
black belt in 1994.
8. Have there been any magazine articles about Lynne?
Features on Lynne have appeared in the following magazines:
+ People Weekly, June 27, 1994. "Here Now, the Sleuth," p. 61.
+ Atlanta, April 1995. "CNN's Secret Agent," p. 40.
+ The Saturday Evening Post, June 1995. "Lynne Russell: CNN's
Straight-Shooting Anchorwoman," p. 34.
+ An article about Lynne appeared in the November 13th, 1996
edition of the hypertrendoid webzine Suck, a self-proclaimed
"experiment in provocation, mordant deconstructionism, and
buzz-saw journalism." Some of it was actually about Lynne,
but it tended to diverge into odd topics such as modern
primitivism and posthuman psychology.
+ An article which mentioned Lynne appeared in Salon, a webzine
owned by Borders Books & Music; in a FAQ-like discussion of
television, Joyce Millman says of Lynne, "Her dark, manicured
eyebrows are mobile arches of silent editorial commentary."
The text of each has been posted to Usenet or the Web and is
reposted occasionally.
9. What TV appearances has she made other than CNN?
+ Lynne appeared as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on
7/25/94. She caused a bit of a stir by hiking up her
miniskirt in the middle of the interview to reveal her trusty
9mm pistol in a thigh holster. In addition, she repeatedly
referred to her boss Ted Turner's wife Jane Fonda as
"Barbarella."
+ In the spring of '95, Lynne was profiled on the entertainment
news show EXTRA. They showed her at work at CNN, practicing
martial arts in the gym, and patrolling the streets of
Atlanta as a deputy sheriff.
+ In the summer of '96, Lynne made an appearance on the Crook &
Chase show in her Fulton County deputy's uniform; she frisked
Charlie Chase, got him down on his knees, handcuffed him and
read him his rights: "You have the right to remain silent,
you have the right to color tv, you have the right to sing
the blues..."
10. Any Lynne pics on the net?
Pictures have been scanned from the Saturday Evening Post
article, and the jpegs are posted to
alt.binaries.pictures.celebrities and
alt.binaries.pictures.misc on occasion. A series of video
captures from the EXTRA show mentioned above were also recently
posted. The CNN web site has a single medium-quality black and
white pic of Lynne (although it is better than the low-quality
pic of Lynne they had before, we want more, CNN!). Some of the
online resources listed above have a few pictures of Lynne.
11. Are there any "Headline Nudes" in existence?
Rumor has it that Playboy offered Lynne big bucks to pose nude,
but she declined. Although not nude, the most erotic pictures
of Lynne are from Atlanta magazine, where she is clad in tight
patent leather, wears her gun as an accessory, and shows quite
a bit of black-stockinged, stiletto-heeled leg.
12. What's with the hair?
Unlike most anchorwomen, Lynne is known to change her hairstyle
frequently. To quote Atlanta magazine, "Russell's may be the
most carefully scrutinized television 'do' since Howard Cosell
put on a rug. Even casual viewers note that one night Russell
looks carefully coiffed and the next as if she forgot to wear a
shower cap -- which is what, in fact, sometimes happens.
"'Regarding my hair,' volunteers Russell, accustomed to
comments, 'I have no control over it. I'm just wearing it.'"
Her color is primarily dark red, although even that is variable
-- at one time during the 80's she even had a very brief stint
as a blonde. Some have theorized that she may sometimes wear
wigs on the air, but this has not been confirmed. Also, she
sometimes wears (and always looks good in) glasses on-air,
something that is seen on few other female anchors.
13. Is Lynne herself on the net?
Unknown. She supposedly knows of the existence of
alt.fan.lynne-russell, though -- one of her CNN co-workers
discovered the group shortly after its creation and posted,
saying he would give Lynne printouts of the posts. But we can
only speculate if this is an ongoing thing, or if Lynne might
even read the group herself (after all, they do have that
laptop on the anchor desk...).
14. How can I contact Lynne?
The general email address for comments about all CNN shows and
stories is cnn.feedback@cnn.com, and the snail mail address for
Lynne's show would be:
CNN Headline News
One CNN Center
P.O. Box 105366
Atlanta, GA 30348
Beyond that, you should respect Lynne's privacy. She has had
bad experiences in the past regarding obsessed fans. Quoting
from Atlanta magazine, "She has had men stalk her, including
one from New England who traveled to New York and Washington
before he realized she was in Atlanta. When he finally found
his way here, he was arrested, convicted and sent to jail."
Anyone with similar ideas is referred to question #6. Further,
"... the network gets more requests for pictures of Russell
than anyone. Unfortunately, says Russell, some 'you'd want to
handle with gloves. They're disgusting.'" So keep it nice.
15. What are Lynne's plans for the future?
In 1995 Lynne signed a five-year contract with CNN (her longest
ever). So we should continue seeing Lynne at least until the
end of the century.
Please e-mail comments about this FAQ to Earl Cooley III at shiva@io.com.
This file was last updated on Saturday, 18-Jan-97 14:46:46 CST.
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